34 replies to this topic

[kazza]

Well the last time I was on this site was several months ago and I was complaining of loadsa sml white bumps. OMG if I could have seen the future!!

Now I have inflamed acne and am literally waking up each morning to new whiteheads that I can squeeze or just red pimples. It won't stop coming up and it's often painful. So far I've been using concealer to, at least, disguise the redness but, this morning, after applying it, my skin looked obviously bumpy.

So I rang in with some BS excuse and I feel totally shitty as a result. With guilt and also that it has had to come to this. I am gonna make an app with GP later, hopefully, to do me a sick note for depression. I love my job and am otherwise a healthy person, but this is the final straw.

I saw a derm yesterday but it was the same old story, been there done that......
I'm female and 34yrs old next month. I should not be having to deal with this same shit that I had to when I was a teenager! None of us should! People don't realise the psychological damage it does and the distress it causes. It affects your quality of life in every way and stops you doing things the clear - skinned take for granted. I can't go to the gym as I'm scared the sweat will wash away the concealer, for example. Pathetic!

TBH, I have several different symptoms that all smack of a hormonal imbalance, oestrogen dominance, to be specific, so it's not just acne, tho that is the most upsetting and damaging, for me. I've been doing a lot of research online ( read Dr John Lee ) including the effects of low progesterone, and I tick a lot of the boxes. So yesterday I ordered some saliva hormone test kits ( oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone ) as, it seems, saliva tests are far more accurate than blood tests as they measure the "free" amounts of the hormones that are available to the body to use, as opposed to the hormones that are bound to protein in the blood and unavailable to the body.
If my progesterone comes back low, I'm gonna start taking natural progesterone cream. I'm sick of antibiotics that stop working and topicals that only work for as long as you're using them. This is how pharmaceuticals make their money! I'll bet my GP offers me antidepressants, they can shove it!

What's important is getting to the route cause, not treating the symptoms, which is all doctors know and care about. Nobody seems to wanna treat us holistically. Not once has a Dr asked about my lifestyle, stress levels, diet etc. A pill is a cure-all in their world cos their world is profit - driven.

I was on the pill for 16yrs on and off and it's screwed up my hormones. I was put on a high oestrogen pill as I complained that I'd lost my libido, and was advised this would help. If only I knew then what I know now. But we trust that doctor knows best and don't question their decision. I'll keep you up-dated with any developments but if anyone can relate or has had similar experiences with hormonal issues, it'd be great to hear how you got on.

thanks, kaz x

[kiwi_kazoo]

hi kazza! i hear what you are say'n! the drs seem more interested in tossing around the meds like they are lollies. i had a similar indecent with my GP about 2 years ago when i knew something was not right with the way i was feeling- anxiety, depression, and the on set of cystic acne like i had never had before. he had me do a blood test, wrote a prescription, and sent me on my way. i felt he thought i was crazy and did not really hear what i was trying to tell him.

anyways, it turns out that it was estrogen dominance. i finally had a light bulb moment and it explained the anxiety, moodiness, depression, thinning hair, acne, horrible PMS symptoms, including tender breast and bloating in the belly. now that i have been able to treat that, it is a night in day difference in how i feel.

i hope that you are able to get some answers from your saliva test that will help you fix your situation. hang in there and be strong. keep us posted on what you find out.

[kazza]

Hey Kiwi Kazoo,

How did you go about dealing with your oestrogen dominance after it was diagnosed? Yeah my symptoms are migraines, water retention, really swollen, painful boobs, tearfulness, heavy periods. Just like having PMS permanently I guess.

I read that progesterone cream can alleviate all these symptoms inc the acne, by rebalancing hormones.

After a lot of online research, I also ordered ClearPores, as it seems one of the best acne treatments and has great reviews. I thought I need something to be going along with, whilst I wait for the test results. Hopefully it'll help. I'll let you know x

[kazza]

Sent saliva samples off today. Takes 7 - 10 days to get results. Hope there's something wrong, Ive spent £140!!!

Going back to work tomorrow. I actually feel quite anxious. Spots quite dry now, due to the Hibiscrub but starting with the ClearPores as of tonight as it arrived today. Wish me luck..........x

[kiwi_kazoo]

hi kazza,

i started using vitex (chaste tree berry) about 7 months ago. it is a herb that helps to balance your progesterone to oestrogen ratio by stimulating your pituitary gland to release more luteinizing hormones. it can take a few months to see results, but for me i noticed differences right away. i have had better results taking 1000mg (capsule) a day. i hear that different types and dosages can work differently for different women. i also have been taking inositol, and that seems to have helped to curb my anxiety to pick at my skin and i think has helped with decreasing oil production. my face isn't 100% clear. but i no longer get any cyctic acne and if i do get any pimples, it is only a few and usually just before TTOM (that time of the month).

the vitex also helped with the sever PMS symptoms i was suffering from. your symptoms sound very similar to what mine were, including the migraines. i still seem to get migrains, but since taking the vitex they have not been as debilitating as they have in the past.

if the vitex didn't work, progesterone cream would have been my next option. but so far, i have been happy with vitex. i spent a lot of time researching vitex and the inositol at a PCOS forum, soulcysters.net. you might want to have a poke around there, as well as here, since PCOS is related to hormone imbalances.

[JayQ]

hi kazza,

i started using vitex (chaste tree berry) about 7 months ago. it is a herb that helps to balance your progesterone to oestrogen ratio by stimulating your pituitary gland to release more luteinizing hormones. it can take a few months to see results, but for me i noticed differences right away. i have had better results taking 1000mg (capsule) a day. i hear that different types and dosages can work differently for different women. i also have been taking inositol, and that seems to have helped to curb my anxiety to pick at my skin and i think has helped with decreasing oil production. my face isn't 100% clear. but i no longer get any cyctic acne and if i do get any pimples, it is only a few and usually just before TTOM (that time of the month).

the vitex also helped with the sever PMS symptoms i was suffering from. your symptoms sound very similar to what mine were, including the migraines. i still seem to get migrains, but since taking the vitex they have not been as debilitating as they have in the past.

if the vitex didn't work, progesterone cream would have been my next option. but so far, i have been happy with vitex. i spent a lot of time researching vitex and the inositol at a PCOS forum, soulcysters.net. you might want to have a poke around there, as well as here, since PCOS is related to hormone imbalances.

I wish there was something for males with hormonal acne to take. I am sick and tired of dealing with this shit too, always get it near mouth and looks horrendous, worse place to get it imo. Wish my acne would go some other place beside chin and mouth all the fn time. Dont know if i can ever get it to stop, all online help i get from docs suggest accutane of course. :S Just still hesistant to take it.

Edited by JayQ, 04 February 2010 - 11:15 PM.

[mikito]

I am 40 years old, suffering from cistyc acne, since I was 15, same symptomps as you, acne around chin and jawline.
The only medicine that works for me is Diane 35 (BCP) , 90% clear now. I hope this information can help you, because I know how you fee. I have been with this treatment, since last year. I wish I have known before.

[kazza]

Hi Mikito,

The thing is I really don't wanna go back on the pill. I actually came off it cos I knew it had screwed up my hormones and my libido vanished. If it were just the acne, it'd be different, but I get several symptoms of hormonal imbalance and I'm now just awaiting the results of these tests so I can actually have that in writing! I wanna get to the route cause of this shit and not just mask the problem.

Kiwi kazoo,

I was on Vitex/Agnus Castus but it didn't do anything for me. I can't remember the dose tho. Also, I read somewhere, that traditionally, donkey's yrs ago, it was used to lower the libido of the women whilst their husbands went off to war, hence it's other name Chasteberry. Well that put me off good and proper! LOL. It could all be horse shit but that was enough to make up my mind!

Thanks for your replies tho, girls. I'll keep you posted.............. Kaz x

[Crabby_Patty]

Hey Kazza

I too have terrible acne round my jawline etc, I have pcos so I think it is due to that. I am 30 now and still have skin like a teenager. I hate it.

I have been using retin-a for the last 7 months and although it has helped some it is not making me 100% clear. I have been on the pill which again helped but coming off it I think made my skin worse and also I don't want to be on it forever.

I am thinking on trying vitex can't really make things much worse.

It does get me down, every morning looking in the mirror trying to cover it up it depressing.

[kiwi_kazoo]

I was on Vitex/Agnus Castus but it didn't do anything for me. I can't remember the dose tho. Also, I read somewhere, that traditionally, donkey's yrs ago, it was used to lower the libido of the women whilst their husbands went off to war, hence it's other name Chasteberry. Well that put me off good and proper! LOL. It could all be horse shit but that was enough to make up my mind!

Thanks for your replies tho, girls. I'll keep you posted.............. Kaz x

sorry that the vitex did not work for you. how long did you use it for? it can take 3-6 months to start working for some women. when i first started using it, it was a lower dosage, 450mg a day. i noticed some improvements, but not what i wanted. after doing some research, i read about how different types and dosages work differently for women. then i switched to the brand i use now.

i have heard that too about lowering the libido, and that is how it got it's name. during the roman and medieval times they believed it would lower the libido of men and women. personally, it has not lowered my libido and one thing i did notice after starting to use it was that i seemed to be experiencing stronger and more sensitive orgasms. plus, since it has greatly improved my mood, then i definitely am more in the mood. i would be interested to see if there have been any studies on how it effects one's libido.

well, i think the progesterone cream would be a good place to start for you if your test results come back the way you are anticipating. keep us posted.

[kazza]

Hiya Crabby Patty,

I used to suspect I had PCOS but my periods are regular and I don't have excess hair. So the Dr wouldn't entertain the idea! Can I ask what other symptoms you had and how you went about being diagnosed?

Hi Kiwi Kazoo,

WOW WEEE, maybe I'll do a bit more research in that case! x

[Crabby_Patty]

Hi Kazza ,

I was diagnosed when I was 16, I basically stopped my periods when I was 15 and they have never returned, I am 31 now. Unless I take something like the pill or provera then I don't have a period.

My syptoms are acne and no periods, I dont really get hair thankfully. I have trouble loosing weight also which can be a problem for pcos woman. I got diagnosed by having an ultra sound scan.

It really is the bain of my life.

[ShirleyB]

Hi everyone, I have the EXACT same problem with my chin and at times jawline. It's not bad enough for accutane, which I don't want anyway, but it's very persistant and it's been almost 4 years, I'm 32. It's that big, deep under the skin but no head kinda bump that scares me, they're really sore and embarrassing. I've been hiding myself from public as much as possible for the last couple of years and I'm not the same fun girl anymore...I feel that it's only getting worse as they're now attaking me more frequently. I'm now taking some herbal remedy trying to get my hormone back on track but let me tell you, it's been an exhausting battle...

[kazza]

Hi all,

Well I've got my saliva results. Testosterone was normal at 33 pg/ml. Normal range is 20 - 70 pg/ml. So that's not the cause of my acne.

My progesterone is low at 84.2 pg/ml. Less than 100 is low. Oestradiol is also low at 2.5 pg/ml. Less than 4.0 pg/ml is considered low.

Then they've put the balance as a ratio 33.7 which is in the typical catagory. I don't understand this bit as, if I'm oestrogen dominant, how can it be in the normal range ( 10.0 - 100 ) ?

So it looks like both are low. They offer no explanation, they just send you the results, so now I could use some help in interpreting them accurately and planning my next course of action.

It's the weekend, so I won't be able to speak to anyone ( or I would have rang the company up, Genova Diagnostics ) so if anyone on here could shed any light I'd be really grateful.

I also did a blood test, everything came back normal. Just shows how inaccurate the progesterone blood test is! The cealiac screen was normal tho.

I did these saliva tests on day 21 of my cycle.

So I probably won't get time to speak to someone about these results until my next day off, next Fri and I'll let you know the outcome of that.

Has anybody had these tests done before?

[kazza]

Hiya,

I've just posted on the nutrition and holistic section but just to let you know, I'm now gonna test for candida, in order to rule it out. Sent for a test today. Candida also affects hormones, amongst many other things, and the more I read about it the more I find it relates to me. Also the fact that I've been on several courses of abx and the pill for years, makes it even more likely. None of these is gut friendly at all!

In the meantime, I'm gonna order some natural progesterone and try and arrange an app with a natural practitioner to discuss my hormone test results.

So yet again, watch this space...........

P.S spots are no better. How depressing

[dacks]

Kazza, I'm in the same place as you...have to go to work this afternoon, but the breakout right now is sooooo bad. It started about a week ago, not too bad, but today there are two welts on my neck that don't even look like pimples, much worse, and about six all around my chin that are giant sized. If I could call in sick I would. I can't make eye contact with my kids because I'm afraid they will comment and make me feel worse.

I know my issue is hormonal because it always gets worse when I am on my period, or just before. When I was pregnant my skin was beautiful, not one mark. I need help and am depressed.

Hope the GP can help you.

[kazza]

Well the latest is that I have an appointment with a Natural Health Practitioner next week, who's specialism is gut health, who will discuss my hormone test results with me and advise me on where to go from here. As my progesterone is low, I already have my tub of natural progesterone cream at the ready. It's Wellsprings Serenity.

I can't start this until day 14 of my cycle tho, and that's over 2 wks away yet. Can't wait tho!!

I'm also currently taking samples of my poo ( bloody gross! ) and gonna send this off, along with a mouth swab, to a lab in Germany to test for, candida and other fungi, secretary IgA ( intestinal immune system ), Alpha-1-antitrypsine ( leaky gut ) and intestinal parasites.
"If you're gonna do a job do it properly", I say LOL. I have no time to spend on guessing, trial and error etc as to wot the cause might be. I just wanna do the necessary tests and find out for def cos I am absolutely bloody well SICK TO DEATH of dealing with this SHITE!

As I type, there's another volcano starting to break thru where the remains of it's predecessor was. There's no fkin end in site! But I do feel better that the ball is eventually rolling re wot the feck is at the root of all this.

One thing's for sure tho, I HATE GPs!! There I said it. They're either clueless as to wot they're prescribing or they cannot be bothered to tell you that further down the line you will have to pay the piper ( abx and the pill, which they encourage and dole out like sweets! ) or they are incapable of treating you holistically. Anything outside of their tiny, pharmaceutical centred, blinkered world and they don't wanna know. They have a lot to answer for,imo!

[frustration]

I have the same issue. I started taking Yasmin several years ago and it made my acne completely clear. BUTTTTTTTTTT I lost 50% of my hair, I would cry out of nowhere, zero libido, gained 20 lbs and I was a mess!!!!!!!!!! Finally went off of it and I feel much better. The acne came back a couple of months ago and it's horrible. They're all around my mouth with a few huge red bumps on my forehead. I have to go to work with giant whiteheads and have to sit in brightly lit rooms for meetings. Argh........... I hate it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BCP completely screwed me up but that was the only thing that made my zits go away. I've been drinking soy milk to see if it helps with my hormones. I saw a holistic doc and he gave me a lot of advice. No fast foods, no bad carbs, soy soy soy.........

I started using Persa Gel 10 and it seems to be helping. It's very drying so I only spot treat at night. Put a big glob right over the pimple and it usually looks a lot better the next day but they keep popping up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn hormones!!!!!!!!!!

[kazza]

Hi Frustration,

I'm sorry to hear you're in a similar boat as me. So are you off the pill at the mo? I am and I keep meaning to speak with someone at the family planning clinic re natural family planning/the rythmn (sp) method as it's the only thing that doesn't involve poisoning my body with fake hormones or having to go thru a painful procedure to get a foreign body shoved inside me! YUK! I'm just crap at getting around to it tho. : (

I went to see a natural practitioner today, for the 1st time. I'm gonna start natural progesterone cream a wk next Mon, which is half way thru my cycle. You only use it twice a day for the last 2 weeks, when progesterone would ordinarily be higher than oestrogen.

Along with that, while I await the results of my candida/parasite/leaky gut test, she advised doing a 10 day liver cleanse. It sounds like it's bogged down anyway, and if my results come bk pos, I'll have to go on an anti - candida diet, and having your liver in tip top condition will make the inevitable die - off symptoms less as the liver will be better able to deal with all the toxins floating about. It can only be of benefit, I guess.

I would be wary about having too much soy milk mind, I read ( on Dr John Lee's site I think ) how it's oestrogenic, and can raise this hormone, making oestrogen dominance even worse or encouraging it if you don't already have it. I'd do a search cos I can't remember the details. I have it at breakfast and I keep meaning to try making almond milk and swap onto that instead.

Because I know for def mine are all fucked up, I would advise getting your hormones tested, then you will know for sure what you're dealing with. It's not normal for adults to be dealing with acne, regardless to what the clueless Drs tell you.

kaz x

[imogen11]

Hey everyone, I'm 33 next month and STILL dealing with acne - my story is very similar to all of yours and I am reading with interest as I am beginning to suspect candida might be inflaming my acne at the moment (thanks to a useless 5 month round of minocycline). I'm now on Diane and into my 3rd month without much success. Like you, I'd really rather not be on the pill, but I am desparate at this point - I've had acne for about 18 years! So over it.

At the moment it is really bad, quite unlike any sort of acne I have had before- large, inflamed clusters on my jawline - it LOOKS like acne, rather than just the usual, persistent pimple here and there.

My doctor is very open to natural therapies and has suggested Chinese medicine, and so forth, which I really appreciate. I do trust her, however, I'm perplexed as to why she is reluctant to refer me to a dermatologist (she has actually said this)! It's not normal to be 33 and to have acne! I thought that would be enough. Also the fact that it has been resistant to antibiotics, Yasmin and now, possibly, Diane...

Sigh. It's a real battle, eh?

Thanks for listening Hope this thread will keep going. I feel a little better to hear there are others who are my age and battling the same thing.